I just wish they would have the 12" already so I can replace my Powerbook... I dropped it the other day, and it works fine but it doesnt look like it will work for a lot longer. The 15" would be cool, but its too big to carry around and thats what I do all the time anyway.

just make sure that gets lost in translation when you sell it in argentina.

Obviously what you are doing right now is called (in my upcoming book of psychology at least) validation. I think it's a normal thing to do. People will reply, say anything, and then you're gonna do what you were subconsciently thinking of doing all along.

Obviously what you are doing right now is called (in my upcoming book of psychology at least) validation. I think it's a normal thing to do. People will reply, say anything, and then you're gonna do what you were subconsciently thinking of doing all along.

Apple has been criticised over a new version of its iTunes program that can keep track of a user's listening habits.

The updated software includes a feature that recommends tracks similar to the music being played via iTunes.

Users said Apple had to be more open about data being collected because the recommendations use unique identifiers for a computer and iTunes account.

Apple said it did not keep any data gathered after it made recommendations.

Track back

The row arose following the update to the iTunes software released by Apple on 10 January.

The new version includes a MiniStore feature that recommends tracks to buy similar to those a user is listening to.

MiniStore looks for similar tracks when a user clicks on a tune in a playlist. It even makes recommendations about songs that were not bought via the hugely popular online music store.

Soon after the update was released, blogger Marc Garrett wrote a journal entry about MiniStore and the data it passes back to Apple.

Further work by other bloggers such as Kirk McElhearn found that the data being sent back to Apple to make the recommendations included artist, title, genre as well as unique identifiers for a computer and iTunes account.

Privacy advocates complained that Apple had not done enough to warn people about the information that was being collected, nor what was being done with the collected data.

By contrast Apple does mention in the licence agreement for iTunes that it contacts the Gracenote music database to work out which album is being played via the program.

"Apple should be clear about its information gathering practices," wrote Mr Garrett on his blog.

Data loss

Apple said in response to a request for comment: "Apple does not save or store any information used to create recommendations for the MiniStore".

On its support website, the company has posted and updated information about how to turn the MiniStore feature off. Information on the page has been updated since the row about iTunes blew up.

"iTunes sends data about the song selected in your library to the iTunes Music Store to provide relevant recommendations," says the entry on its support website.

"When the MiniStore is hidden, this data is not sent to the iTunes Music Store."

Digital detective work by bloggers has confirmed that no data is passed to Apple when MiniStore is turned off.

Macworld magazine reported on its website that an Apple official had told it that nothing was done with the information collected.

The magazine called on Apple to be upfront about the information it was collecting and what was being done with it.

In the past both Microsoft and RealNetworks have got into trouble for not disclosing that they were identifying users individually and monitoring what they were watching.

anybody else see the commerical for the intel chip iMac? i like how they simultaneously pandered to PC users by showing off the intel component and made digs at PC's by calling the previous workload for intel chips dull.

Obviously what you are doing right now is called (in my upcoming book of psychology at least) validation. I think it's a normal thing to do. People will reply, say anything, and then you're gonna do what you were subconsciently thinking of doing all along.

I just got a 17-inch MacBook Pro. It's a dream machine (so far, at least - I've only had it for a few hours).

I haven't had any trouble porting over software from my old G4 iMac - at least not yet. MS Office, Photoshop, Illustrator, Final Draft, MM Screenwriter, etc. all work fine. I've already sent off for my crossgrade Final Cut Studio discs, so hopefully once I get those, I'll have a nice little portable studio.

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs on Tuesday made the company's long-awaited jump into the mobile phone business and renamed the company to just "Apple Inc.," reflecting its increasing focus on consumer electronics.

The iPhone, which starts at $499, is controlled by touch, plays music, surfs the Internet and runs the Macintosh computer operating system. Jobs said it will "reinvent" the telecommunications sector and "leapfrog" past the current generation of hard-to-use smart phones.

"Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything," he said during his keynote address at the annual Macworld Conference and Expo. "It's very fortunate if you can work on just one of these in your career. ... Apple's been very fortunate in that it's introduced a few of these."

He said the name change is meant to reflect the fact that Apple has matured from a computer manufacturer to a full-fledged consumer electronics company.

"I didn't sleep a wink last night," he said. "I was so excited."

During his speech, Jobs also unveiled a TV set-top box that allows people to send video from their computers and announced the number of songs sold on its iTunes Music Store has topped 2 billion.

Apple shares jumped more than 6 percent on the announcements, while the stock of rival smart-phone makers plunged.

Jobs demonstrated the iPhone's music capabilities by playing "Lovely Rita, Meter Maid," from the Beatles' "Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band," as the album's psychedelic album art graced a wide-screen monitor.

"We're going to use a pointing device that we're all born with," Jobs said. "It works like magic. ... It's far more accurate than any touch display ever shipped. It ignores unintended touches. It's super smart."

The phones, which will operate exclusively on AT&T Inc.'s Cingular wireless network, will start shipping in June. A 4-gigabyte model will cost $499, while an 8-gigabyte iPhone will be $599, Jobs said.

IPhone is less than a half-inch thin _ less than almost any phone on the market today. It comes with a 2-megapixel digital camera built into the back, as well as a slot for headphones and a SIM card.

In a demonstration Tuesday, Jobs slid his finger across the display to reveal a home screen and then scrolled through a list of songs.

To make a call, users can tap out the number on an onscreen keypad or scroll through their contacts and dial with a single touch.

Apple is also introducing what it calls "visual voicemail," so users can jump to the most important messages rather than have to listen to all of them in order.

The phone supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless technology and can detect location from Global Positioning System satellites. It also can send and display e-mail and text messages. Apple is partnering with Yahoo Inc. on Web-based e-mail and Google Inc. on maps.

With a few finger taps, Jobs demonstrated how to pull up a Google Maps site and find the closest Starbucks to the Moscone Center. He then prank-called the cafe and ordered 4,000 lattes to go before quickly hanging up.

"My initial reaction is that this product actually lives up to the extensive hype, and I'm not easily impressed," said Avi Greengart, mobile device analyst for the research firm Current Analysis.

Also Tuesday, Jobs said Apple will begin taking orders immediately for the $299 video box called Apple TV. It will ship next month.

The gadget is designed to bridge computers and television sets so users can more easily watch their downloaded movies on a big screen. A prototype of the gadget was displayed by Jobs in September when Apple announced it would sell TV shows and movies through its iTunes online store.

The product could be as revolutionary to digital movies as Apple's iPod music player was to digital music. Both devices liberate media from the computer, allowing people to enjoy digital files without being chained to a desktop or laptop.

"It's really, really easy to use," Jobs told the crowd at San Francisco's Moscone Center before demonstrating the system with a video clip of "The Good Shepherd." "It's got the processing horsepower to do the kinds of things we like to do."

Apple TV will come with a 40-gigabyte hard drive that stores up to 50 hours of video. It features an Intel Corp. microprocessor and can handle videos, photos and music streamed from up to five computers within the wireless range.

Jobs also said Apple has sold more than 2 billion songs on its popular iTunes music download service, catapulting the company into the top ranks of music sellers worldwide. Apple, which sells 58 songs per second, or 5 million songs a day, sells more songs than Amazon.com and ranks behind only Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Target as a music retailer.

"We couldn't be happier with the growth rate of iTunes," Jobs said.

He said Apple will sell digital movies from Paramount. Apple has partnered with Disney for several months, offering about 100 movies on iTunes. With Paramount's selection, it will have 250 movies available for downloading on the site.

With Tuesday's launches, it remains to be seen whether the leading seller of digital music players can take will find it as easy to jump into the phone business. Apple could use a megahit along the lines of its iconic iPod to divert investors' attention from the stock options-backdating scandal that has tainted its reputation.

The backdating of stock options, which has been widespread among Silicon Valley companies, involves pegging stock options to favorable grant dates in the past to boost the recipients' award. It isn't necessarily illegal, but securities laws require companies to properly disclose the practice in their accounting and settle any charges that may result.

In a December filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple said Jobs was aware of, or recommended the selection of, some favorable grant dates but he neither benefited financially from them nor "appreciated the accounting implications."

Apple shares were up $5.71 to $91.18 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $50.16 to $93.16. Meanwhile, shares of other smart-phone makers slid: Treo-maker Palm Inc. dropped 4.7 percent, BlackBerry's Research In Motion Ltd. lost 6.4 percent and Motorola Inc. shed 1 percent.

Obviously what you are doing right now is called (in my upcoming book of psychology at least) validation. I think it's a normal thing to do. People will reply, say anything, and then you're gonna do what you were subconsciently thinking of doing all along.

Steve Jobs, the boss of Apple, has urged the world's largest record companies to begin selling songs online without copy protection software.

He said the abolition of copy protection software known as digital rights management (DRM) would be good for consumers and music suppliers.

Copyright protection had failed to tackle piracy, he argued.

The firm behind the iPod has been under pressure to make its iTunes music store compatible with other music players.

It is clear that the record industry has some responsibility, but that does not relieve Apple of responsibility

Consumer rights groups in several European countries have lodged complaints with the firm over the incompatibility of iTunes with other music players.

"We welcome Apple taking this problem seriously, and addressing it at such a high level," said Torgeir Waterhouse, senior adviser to Norway's Consumer Council.

'Best alternative'

The abolition of DRM would enable all MP3 users to access music from any online music store, including iTunes, Mr Jobs said.

"This is clearly the best alternative for consumers and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat," he said in a statement on Apple's website.

Analysts said such a move would benefit Apple as the market leader in the digital music marketplace.

Apple's iTunes store has sold about 2 billion songs since launching in 2003, and accounts for more than 70% of the US digital music market.

Shared responsibility

Mr Jobs said that if DRM safeguards were dropped, Apple would be in a position to create a download system that could work with devices other than iPods, including Microsoft's recently launched Zune music player.

I think Steve is finally saying something he has wanted to say for a long time - he is not saying this just to grandstand, he really thinks this could open up the market

He called on the world's four biggest music labels - Universal Music, EMI, Sony BMG Music and Warner Music - to begin selling their music catalogues without DRM restrictions.

But Norway's Consumer Council said the issues at stake here go beyond those Mr Jobs have chosen to highlight.

"It is clear that the record industry has some responsibility, but that does not relieve Apple of responsibility," said Mr Waterhouse.

EMI said it was considering Mr Jobs' views, while a spokesman for Universal Music declined to comment.

Music download site Emusic, which sells DRM-free songs in the universally compatible MP3 format, backed Mr Jobs' call for the major labels to drop their restrictions.

"DRM only serves to restrict consumer choice, prevents a larger digital music market from emerging and often makes consumers unwitting accomplices to the ambitions of technology companies," said Emusic boss David Pakman.

"Consumers prefer a world where the media they purchase is playable on any device, regardless of its manufacturer, and not burdened by arbitrary usage restrictions."

Responding to Mr Jobs' comments, Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey said: "I think Steve is finally saying something he has wanted to say for a long time.

"He is not saying this just to grandstand. He really thinks this could open up the market."

Obviously what you are doing right now is called (in my upcoming book of psychology at least) validation. I think it's a normal thing to do. People will reply, say anything, and then you're gonna do what you were subconsciently thinking of doing all along.

Obviously what you are doing right now is called (in my upcoming book of psychology at least) validation. I think it's a normal thing to do. People will reply, say anything, and then you're gonna do what you were subconsciently thinking of doing all along.

Yeah, they bought Final Touch HD (which used to be a 5-10,000 dollar program) and added it into the package as Color. AMAZING. I can't wait to try it out. And some of the features in Final Cut Pro are pretty spectacular. Having timelines recognize the clip settings is going to be really helpful. Now I wish I hadn't bought the student version of Final Cut Studio 1, because I can't upgrade. I'll buy the whole thing again when I get a new Mac, hopefully this fall.